De positie van de joodse vrouw in de oudheid: Een overzicht van de recente literatuur

Abstract

Jewish literature from the Hellenistic period gives a predominantly negative picture of the religious and social status of Jewish women. It is only seldom that we find a positive picture of women in high social positions. A survey of the extent to which women were confined within the home (an indication of a low social status) and of the degree of participation in higher education (a prerequisite for holding important positions) suggests however that in reality the position of Jewish women was more differentiated than the reader can infer from the picture given by Jewish literature.